Page 93 of Mortal Blood
“Whatever. I feel like I could kick anyone’s ass right now, anyway.” And I wouldn’t mind some revenge, either, as it happened. “Let’s go rescue my mom.”
We made it over the wall easily enough—my ribs were already halfway to healed—and it didn’t take us long to get clear of the academy’s wards. I carefully scented the air as we moved, but as far as I could tell, we were alone out here. I glanced at Jax and he nodded his agreement. Guess Blackwell had scared Brennan off, for now at least. One more thing to thank whoever had hired him for. But there’d be time to worry about whose debt I was in later.
I pulled the stone from my pocket and curled my fingers across it, focusing on my desire to meet with whoever had sent it to me. A portal sprang into existence.
“Here goes nothing,” I muttered, and with a final glance at the others, stepped through. Time to meet the Black Winds.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
We weren’t inBlack Wind territory. I’d never been there before, and for all I knew it could have been on the top of a mountain or at the bottom of the ocean, or anywhere in between. But I was pretty sure, wherever the hell it was, that I wouldn’t find Ezekiel standing there.
“Daughter. I see you’ve brought some friends.”
“Where’s my mom?” I demanded.
“No hug for your dear father?” he asked, an amused glint in his eye.
“I don’t have a father,” I ground out. “Just a poor excuse for a sperm donor.”
Ew. No, stop. I didnotwant to think about this guy’s…
“What do you want?” I asked.
“You’re being very rude,” he replied calmly. “You haven’t even introduced me to your friends. And what interesting company you keep. A shifter…and what might you be, my dear?”
“She’s not your dear,” I snapped. “She’s not your anything.”
From the corner of my eye I saw Ling take a small step back before steeling herself. It had been a bad idea to let her come. Jax could take care of himself, but Ling was…well, I didn’t know what Ling was, really. But she didn’t strike me as a fighter, and Ezekiel was as dangerous as they came.
“Jax, Ling,” I said, without taking my eyes from Ezekiel—because something told me that would be a mistake, “you should both head back to the academy.”
“Yes, indeed,” my father said. “After all, this is between youand I.”
“Not a chance,” Jax said, his voice low and steady.
“We’re staying here,” Ling said.
“So be it,” Ezekiel said, moving his left hand away from the ring I’d seen open a portal before.
“Just give me my mom and we’ll all leave,” I told him.
“And why would I do a thing like that?”
“It was you who took her, wasn’t it?”
“Of course. It was easy enough to convince that angry little pack to time their attack for my convenience, and bring her to me. One or two little trinkets was all it took to buy their compliance. A deal well struck, I’m sure you’ll agree.”
I swallowed bile. He’d sent the Black Winds. He was the reason four of Cole’s pack were dead.
“Truth be told, I’m disappointed it took you this long to work it out, though I suppose you cannot be blamed. You are half-human, after all. And not, it would seem, from particularly resilient stock.”
I ground my teeth together. “You better not be hurting her.”
“Why should I?” he asked. “She’s of no consequence to me. She has, however, served her purpose. And she did steal my daughter from me. That has proved rather the inconvenience. Perhaps it’s time to end her miserable existence.”
“So she’s still alive?” Hope and terror warred inside me.
“For the moment.”
